


i'm caught up in a daydream

by yeojins



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Demons, F/M, Fighting, Jocelyn Is Alive, Kinda, M/M, Magnus and Izzy are best friends, Malec, Mundane!Simon, but he's only mentioned - Freeform, but not really, caring!magnus, clary is a good gf, demon attack, i forgot about luke, jace is out of it, maryse and robert are annoying, valentine is nice, wounded!alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 15:54:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13391181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojins/pseuds/yeojins
Summary: It happened so quickly.At first, it had been reports of strange sounds and demon activity coming from an empty warehouse. They had assumed it was an easy job the four of them could handle. Alec and Jace had gone inside to check it out while Izzy and Clary looked around the area surrounding the abandoned place. They should not have split up, but by the time Alec and Jace thought of this, it was too late.or," somehow, a character or characters glimpse what their life may have been like if one pivotal event had not happened, or had happened differently "





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> title is from Daydream by Ruelle, because she is the queen of malec songs

_It happened so quickly._

_At first, it had been reports of strange sounds and demon activity coming from an empty warehouse. They had assumed it was an easy job the four of them could handle. Alec and Jace had gone inside to check it out while Izzy and Clary looked around the area surrounding the abandoned place. They should not have split up, but by the time Alec and Jace thought of this, it was too late._

_Then the demon came._

_It came out of nowhere, its skin black and its eyes red with fire. It came at Jace in such a haste that Alec barely had time to shoot an arrow into its side. The beast exploded into pieces, but their victory was short-lived when those pieces grew into demons too quickly for them to realise they were surrounded._

_It was a whirlwind of black smoke and dark bodies. The air was thick with the stench of the demons, and Alec started to realise they were outnumbered. He didn’t know where the girls were, or if they were even okay. He couldn’t even tell where Jace was through the thick darkness that surrounded them._

_He was using his blade, but they were everywhere. He could not help himself but think of Magnus, his sweet and caring boyfriend. Alec hoped that this morning wasn’t the last time he would ever see him. He knew that he shouldn’t do think like that; he shouldn’t let his emotions cloud him, especially in battle. But he couldn’t help it._

_The small moment he let himself get distracted was enough for a demon to push him into a wall, its claws digging into his stomach. Everything blurred out at once, all the noise sucked out of him in an instant. He faintly heard someone shout his name and then he blacked out._


	2. one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the aftermath of the attack

For a moment, it’s all dark and quiet. Then, a sharp ray of light almost blinds him.

He wakes so suddenly he has to blink against the sharp sunlight coming through the window. He clutches at the sheets around him, swallows and relaxes just slightly. It was all a dream. It was just a horrible nightmare. He looks down at his bare chest and sees only his pale skin. No claw marks.

“I hope you’re getting dressed, Alec! Isabelle would not like it if you were late for her rehearsal!” Alec freezes. That’s his mother’s voice. At the same time as he wonders why his mother is here, he realises he is not at Magnus’ apartment in Brooklyn. He isn’t even in his own room at the institute. The walls are a boring light grey, the walls bare of any pictures and the room only has a bookshelf, his bed, a desk and a closet. 

That’s when he realises exactly what his mother said.

“Alec, are you still in bed? I can’t believe you, even Max is downstairs eating breakfast with your father.” His mother enters the room, her usual tightly held up hair is in waves beside her face and she has a warm smile on her face. She doesn’t even sound stern and he still has no idea where he is and whose bed he’s in.

“Dad? He’s here?” Alec asks. Last time he spoke with his mother, she was speaking of leaving that cheating bastard. Also, he has no idea where  _here_ is. She ignores his question and gives him a stern look. Then she leaves him to wonder what is going on alone. He’s seen enough of his mother’s stern looks to know he should not question her.

As he gets dressed, he goes over everything. He went with Jace, Clary and Izzy to the abandoned place. He went inside with Jace and they were ambushed. Earlier that morning, he and Magnus had been in a rush, both sleeping until the last minute and hurrying to get ready and start their day.

But now here he is,—wherever  _here_  is, anyway—in a sad room while his parents and Max are downstairs. And what rehearsal? He knows Izzy doesn’t do theatre, and she couldn’t be getting married. Last time they had spoken, she had been trying to get over Sebastian’s betrayal and Raphael.

He navigates through the house as if he has been there before, which he swears he hasn’t. The kitchen greets him with the sight of his father in normal clothing and his mother in  _jeans._ How had he not noticed that before? They look so normal, unlike their usually uptight clothing and stern expressions.

“Sleeping Beauty has awoken!” A voice announces. Alec freezes, and he realises too slowly that the teenager sitting there with milk in his barely-there peach fuzz is Max. The logical part of his brain recognises him immediately, but he can’t help but internally freak out. Something is wrong. He knows that those eyes belong to Max, but the boy has grown several years and inches since the last time Alec saw him.

“Max? When did you get so big?” He can’t stop staring. His brother is right there, in slacks and a shirt with runes scattered over his arms. Is he dreaming? Has he gone crazy? Has he  _died?_ That has to be the answer to why he’s in a random house because travelling to the future is impossible.

“I hope you’re all ready for the wedding of your life!”

Alec whirls around, and he is met with the sight of Izzy. She’s wearing a soft black jumpsuit that looks like it’s more for comfort rather than looking good. She’s grinning, but she narrows her eyes at Alec. He’s more than used to her eyes judging whatever he’s wearing, but seeing her in  _comfortable_ clothes and without her bright red lipstick throws him off.

“Shouldn’t you be out of your pajamas by now?” She asks. He’s too stunned, his mind running a mile a minute trying to understand everything that is going on. She moves from the doorway and grips into his shoulders. “I get that there’s a time difference between here and London, but I refuse for anything to go wrong on my wedding day.”

Alec doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know where to start. Wedding? Who would she be getting married to when she told him yesterday she wasn’t ready to date? Or was that even yesterday? He has no idea how long he has been out of it, but the last thing he can remember before he woke up is the pain of the demon’s claws digging into his stomach.

“That’s why we’re having the rehearsal, my dear.” Their mother smiles at them and Alec watches in silent shock as they hug. He has definitely gone to heaven. He has died in that warehouse and now he’s in an alternative universe, heaven or whatever. His mother and Isabelle have never been that close, Maryse’s cold attitude always drawing Izzy closer to their father.

“Who are you getting married to?” He asks. Izzy and Maryse turn, an identical look of confusion on their faces. Alec doesn’t understand anything about what is going on right now, and he still doesn’t know where Magnus and Jace are. He’s even worried for Clary, though he will never admit that to anyone. Maybe Magnus.

“Logan Moore?” Isabelle answers. When Alec’s look doesn’t dissipate, she steps closer and puts a hand on his forehead. “Did you go to bed late? Are you okay?” She asks then, as if Alec is supposed to know all of this. Alec is about 110% sure that he has never heard of a Logan Moore.

“Logan? Who is Logan? What about Raphael?” He asks. He never thought he would ask about that vampire, but everyone is staring at him as if he’s crazy and he has no idea who Logan Moore is. He doesn’t even think he knows of anyone with the first name as Logan.

“Raphael? Who is Raphael?” She asks. Her dark eyebrows are pulled together and now Alec is full-on panicking. She doesn’t know who he is, and she is getting married to someone Alec knows that she doesn’t know who is either. He doesn’t like this alternative universe, it doesn’t sound as dreamy as the one Clary and Jace had been in.

“Raphael? The boss at the Hotel Dumort?” He says, but he sees that she has no idea what he is talking about. “Do you know who Jace is?” He hopes that she does. By the Angel, he doesn’t know what he would do if she didn’t. He’s too scared to check if the parabatai rune is still there. She smiles. The look of recognition on her face instantly eases most of his worries.

“Of course I know Jace Herondale,” she scoffs. “He’s dating Clary.” She has a worried look in her eyes and Alec’s mind is running wild while he tries to think of what could have happened. So Clary and Jace are here. But what about Magnus?

“Alec, are you feeling well?” His father asks. Everyone is staring at him in worry. He’s already worried enough about himself because nothing is making any sense. The only logical thing he’s heard since he woke up is that Clary and Jace are dating, but that does nothing to ease him.

“I…” how does he explain it? How does he tell them that they are not real? That this has to be some sort of weird version of heaven. Or maybe he’s in hell? That would explain why Magnus isn’t here. “Where are we?” he settles on asking. The four of them start exchanging looks in front of him and he barely feels as if he can breathe.

“We’re in Idris, Alec.” Izzy steps closer cautiously, as if he’s an animal and seconds away from lashing out. She touches his forehead and frowns while stroking his arm with her other hand. “I think we need to see a Silent Brother after the rehearsal. What is the last thing you remember?”

Alec hesitates, his eyes flicking over to his worried-looking parents and Max. “I was on a mission in Brooklyn with you, Jace and Clary. You stayed outside while Jace and I went inside to investigate and we were ambushed by demons.” The look of shock on his parents’ faces and Max make him even more uneasy.

“Real demons?” Max says in awe. He grins widely, but his smile dims when he sees the look his mother gives him. It’s not the stern one she usually gives, but a look that clearly says  _not now._ Alec still can’t believe that the teenager in front of him is  _Max._

“But we have never even been to America, Alec.” His sister’s voice is calm and steady, but he knows her well enough to see the fear in her eyes. He tugs his shirt up and almost faints when he sees the lack of the rune he shares with Jace. He sits down heavily and can’t take his eyes off the bare skin. “Alec?”

“Jace,” he breathes out. “What happened to our parabatai bond?” He looks up at his family, but they’re looking at him as if he’s a stranger or as if he’s crazy. Maybe he’s both. Izzy is the only one daring to go near him, but even she seems hesitant.

“Jace? Your parabatai?” She exclaims, as if Jace being his parabatai is a ridiculous thing. “Okay, we’re going to this rehearsal and then I am taking you to the Silent Brothers myself.” She grabs his arms and tugs him with her upstairs and back into the cold room.

“Izzy—” He tries, but she shushes him and turns to his closet to find clothes for him. He has been parabatai with Jace for so many years that he has never imagined being without the Mark. Of course, he knows that if one of them were to die the other would have to live with the faded rune, but he never expected that to happen so soon. And there is no trace of the rune on his skin. As if the rune has never been there.

“Shower, get dressed and meet me downstairs,” she says. She drops the clothes on his bed and stops by the door to turn and look at him sadly. He swallows and distracts himself with picking up the clothes as she leaves the room and shuts the door behind her.


	3. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the attack from Jace's POV and Alec's confusion grows

_Jace has always been the reckless out of the two of them. He’s always been the one getting himself into trouble and harming himself. He thinks that it’s most of the reason why Alec agreed to become his parabatai. Alec Lightwood, the cautious and protecting boy. Until Clary, Jace had cared very little for his own safety._

_He had always believed that out of the two of them, Alec would be the one with the faded parabatai rune. He never thought that Alec would die first. But as they’re in the warehouse and fighting off demons, he feels a sharp pain in his stomach that he knows isn’t his own._

_When he looks across the room, he sees Alec pressed against the wall and a demon in front of him. He can feel the pain of the claws as if he was in Alec’s place and a burning rage fills him at once. He doesn’t register the glow of his eyes and how the demons fall to the ground before turning into dust._

_“Alec!” He runs, slicing his dagger into the remaining demon and watches it crumble. He barely catches Alec before the boy falls to the ground. He moves Alec to the floor gently, fishing out his stele with trembling hands and carefully pulls up his shirt to draw an **iratze** into his skin. The wounds are wide and Jace tries to focus on the task and not focus on how far away Alec feels. The rune disappears quickly and he curses. Demon venom._

_Isabelle and Clary come running in, but Jace is too busy trying to check Alec’s heartbeat. “Alec!” Clary exclaims while Izzy is by his side in an instant. She has tears in her eyes and she makes a whimper-like sound at the sight of his wound._

_“Clary, call Magnus. Tell him to hurry,” Jace chokes out. Izzy snatches his stele away from him and draws three **iratzes** in a hurry. They all fade and she lets out a sob. She looks over at Jace, her eyes wide and full of fear. He can’t bear to look into her eyes for too long._

_“What happened?” She cries. He’s about to explain when they hear the sound of a portal appearing. He didn’t even hear Clary make the call, too busy with trying to keep his parabatai, his **brother,** alive. _

_He feels Magnus before he sees him. He can’t look at the warlock, can’t look him in the eyes without seeing the look of horror on his face. He moves aside to give him space, and he faintly feels a hand on his shoulder. He numbly lets Clary pull him into her arms while he can’t tear his eyes away from Alec’s pale, lifeless face._

**_. . ._ **

Alec has only one memory of Idris.

He remembers the night Valentine was killed, how he had thought Jace had died. Remembers the pain and hysteria he was in when he arrived at Lake Lyn with Isabelle and Magnus only to see Jace and Clary kissing.

So as they walk through the streets, he can’t say if the city of Alicante has changed in this alternative universe he finds himself in. When they arrive at the venue, he feels so relieved to see Jace. He’s talking with Clary, and they look as disgustingly in love as they usually are.

The redhead smiles brightly when she sees Izzy and the girls wander off while talking about dresses and flowers. He walks over to Jace and smiles. He looks the same. The same blonde hair, the same bicoloured eyes and the same gentle smirk. The only difference is that instead of being dressed in the same black gear, he’s wearing a bright blue sweater and grey jeans.

“Hey, Izzy told me you’re having some sort of amnesia?” He sounds unsure of himself, as if he doesn’t know what to say. “Everything okay?” He shoots Alec a quick look before averting his eyes. He doesn’t seem as worried as Alec thought he would be. He seems awkward and looks as though he feels out of place.

It hits Alec then. They’re not parabatai in this universe; they might not even be friends. Izzy had talked about him as if she only knew him through Clary, which may be true here. He swallows and nods. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he lies. Because this isn’t his brother.

. . .

If there was something Alec hadn’t been expecting in this universe, it was Valentine Morgenstern. He stares in horror as the man enters the room hand in hand with Jocelyn. Clary goes over to hug her parents as if they didn’t just come back from the grave. Jace joins them and hugs both of them.

“Clary has been at the Los Angeles Institute for a while,” Isabelle murmurs into his ear. She’s been giving him information on everyone. Apparently, he and Jace aren’t close at all. Izzy and Clary have been best friends for the longest time and Jace was always the distant boy that kept to himself.

The whole rehearsal goes by in a blur and he stands off to the side. No one bothers him and he wonders if it’s because Izzy has warned everyone, or if he’s not a  people person in this universe too. It makes him miss Magnus.

He wonders if Magnus is back home in Brooklyn, living his life as if Alec never existed. It hurts, but Izzy already said they have never been to the States. That must mean he has never met Magnus. Suddenly he worries if he has a significant other. The thought of being with someone other than Magnus absolutely horrifies him, but it’s a possibility.

By the time they reach the Silent Brothers, he can’t help but let his horror and worry turn into panic. He stops Izzy just as they’re about to enter the infirmary. She looks up at him with that worried look she’s had on her face since he panicked in the kitchen this morning.

“Do I… have someone?” He asks. The question is vague and awkward, but he can tell she understands what he means. She shakes her head slowly, an awkward smile on her face. He can’t stand to look at her for too long. She looks so much like how she normally looks, yet she is not his sister. Not really.

“Not that I know of, at least.” She leads him into the room and for the first time, the sight of the Silent Brothers makes him happy. They will be able to find out what is wrong with him and fix him. He doesn’t understand anything and hopefully, they will be able to clear things up for him. If they don’t, he doesn’t know what he will do.


	4. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec's loved ones worry for his wellbeing while Alec tries to figure out what's going on

_“He’s stable… for now. He’s lost a lot of blood and I can’t reach him.” Magnus sounded authoritative and calm, but Izzy could see the chaos in his eyes. He went to work quickly, but she could tell it was more on autopilot because he couldn't afford to be distracted by his feelings. By the time he had managed to stable her brother and move him to his loft, all Izzy had done was cry. He had been so focused on stabling Alec that he had let the glamour on his eyes drop._

_But now, in the living room and in front of Maryse and Robert Lightwood, the glamour was back on. She was on one of his large couch chairs in some sweats and an oversized sweater Magnus had conjured up for her because she had been covered in blood, **in his blood.** _

_Clary and Jace were on the couch, Jace lying across it with his head in Clary’s lap. He had been distant ever since they had found him, but now he was asleep while his girlfriend ran a hand through his hair. She had been the most clear-minded out of all of them, though Izzy could tell she was worried too._

_“If he’s stable, then we’re moving him to the Institute. The Silent Brothers will take care of him,” Maryse said sternly. Isabelle winced. She could see how Magnus’ eyes narrowed from across the room and got up slowly._

_“With all due respect, Maryse, I **am** taking care of him and he will stay here.” Magnus was clearly trying to contain himself while he glared at the mother and raised a brow. “I know more about demon venom than the Silent Brothers do, and I have the tools to help him recover.” His voice was icy calm, but Izzy stepped up to his side and placed a hand on his arm gently._

_“Mother,” Izzy said gently. Maryse moved her eyes away from Magnus and raised a brow at her daughter. “Magnus saved Alec’s life; you could be a little more grateful. We all love Alec and he will make sure to do anything in his power to get him back, right Magnus?” Izzy looked over at the warlock._

_Magnus nodded quietly. “I promise you I will do everything and more.”_

_. . ._

There’s nothing wrong with him.

At least, that’s what the Silent Brothers think. There is nothing visibly wrong with him and he’s all right. But it doesn’t feel right. He feels out of place and he hates the way everyone is walking on eggshells around him. Izzy seems defeated, and he can tell she doesn’t know what to do with him.

“When is the wedding?” He asks. He’s not even sure what day it is. She’s sitting on the couch beside him, but he’s been avoiding her eyes and clutching at his mug of tea. It was incredibly awkward meeting her husband-to-be all over again.

“This Saturday,” she says. When she sees the look that he gives her she smiles slightly. “It’s Wednesday today,” she informs him. He smiles gratefully. He still wants to know how Magnus is and where he might be. He’s glad they’re all okay, but he hates this universe and he would love to go back to his own anytime soon.

“Do you know Magnus Bane?” He asks. He can’t go to bed; he’ll be unable to sleep until he knows where Magnus finds himself now. Isabelle frowns at him and puts her mug down. She looks suspicious, yet he doesn’t think he could have done anything wrong.

“The Downworlder?” she asks in shock. The way she says it makes him uneasy with how the Isabelle he knows and loves would never speak that way. “He’s the High Warlock of Brooklyn, I think. He always comes when there are Downworlder meetings here in Idris because Theresa Gray has made him her right-hand man.” Izzy narrows her eyes at him and raises a brow. “Why?”

Alec feels his face heat up; he clears his throat and shrugs. “Was just wondering if he's still the High Warlock.” It’s a blatant lie, but if she notices, she doesn’t call him out on it. She leans back in her seat and runs a hand through her hair calmly.

“How am I?” she asks. “I mean, you seem to recognize almost everyone except Logan, so how are we in this alternative universe?” It’s obvious that she’s not sure if she believes his theory, but it’s the only thing that makes sense to him.

He tells her of how they grew up in the New York Institute, though he leaves out everything related to the Circle and the Uprising. He tells her about their past in highlights; of how Jace lost his father and was sent to live with them, how they became parabatai and the three of them were an amazing trio until Clary arrived.

“You say that as if you don’t like her,” Izzy accuses. Alec rolls his eyes and tells her of how much trouble she caused and how her best friend was turned into a vampire. He realises then that if Clary had never run into Jace at Pandemonium, she and Simon would have continued their lives as mundanes.

“What?” Izzy says worriedly when he freezes.

“It makes so much more sense,” he mumbles to himself. He gets up and starts pacing, trying to collect his thoughts, even if he feels as if he only has half of the pieces to the puzzle. If Clary had never gone to Pandemonium with Simon, she would have never bumped into Jace, which means that both she and Simon would be studying right now and both Jocelyn and Valentine would be alive.

“Alec? What’s going on?” He didn’t notice that she got up from the couch so it makes him flinch in shock when she places a hand on his arm. She stares up at him, a hesitant and scared look on her face. He stops pacing, tugs up his shirt again and runs a hand across where the parabatai rune would be.

If Clary had never met Jace, that still would not explain why Alec and Jace aren’t parabatai. There is no reason they shouldn’t be parabatai, they’re brothers—

“I know what’s wrong,” he breathes out as it hits him again. He sits down on the couch slowly, Izzy joining him. She sits close enough to rub a soothing hand on his arm, but she gives him enough room to breathe and think. She doesn’t say a word, just watches him with those big brown eyes he’s seen almost every day since she was born.

Clary is the key event that changed his life. He wouldn’t have met Magnus in time for him not to marry Lydia. But there was one more person whose crucial actions changed Alec’s life, even if he was an innocent little baby at the time.


	5. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec has found the last piece of the puzzle, but what does that exactly mean?

Magnus hasn’t slept in over 24 hours.

He can feel it in every limb of his body, in the heavy weight of his eyelids and how low his magic and energy levels are. He’s exhausted and he has almost used up all of his magic to make sure Alec will wake.

It hasn’t been easy. Especially not with the Lightwoods breathing down his neck. Izzy has kept her distance (she’s always been his favourite Shadowhunter after Alec and Tessa) while Clary hasn’t left Jace’s side. The poor boy has been out of it ever since Magnus arrived, and he probably won’t move until Alec wakes up.

It’s not until Izzy gets Maryse and Robert to leave with the promise of calling them as soon as Alec wakes that he gets to breathe. He leaves the three silent Shadowhunters in his living room and enters his bedroom.

It’s dark in here, as Magnus had been too busy tending to Alec to turn on the lights. The only source of light is coming from the window, and it leaves behind a pale light that shines on Alec. He looks peaceful, unlike earlier when he had been sweating and twitching in pain. The wound has been cleaned up and bandaged, but the image of the large claw marks and the greenish tint to the poison the claws left behind still haunts him.

He remembers when he first met Jocelyn, and how he told her that he wanted to stay out of Shadowhunter business. He remembers, years later when the redheaded woman was missing and he had told Dot how ridiculous she was, risking her life for a _Shadowhunter._ It’s ironic, really, now.

Magnus’ heart might have been closed off for over a century, but all it took was a cold and closeted boy to stumble into his life and make the walls crumble down and open up his heart again. It didn’t matter that Alec hadn’t meant to do it on purpose, or that he didn’t even know what he was doing. Camille had been right about one thing, and that was that pretty boys would always be his undoing.

He’s so close to nodding off when he hears the sheets rustle. He freezes in his chair and opens his eyes slowly, only to find a pair of hazel eyes staring straight at him. He sits still for a moment, unable to move or look away. It’s not until Alec tries to sit up that he moves over to his side in an instant.

“Don’t.” Magnus places a careful hand on his shoulder, stopping his movements. Alec stares at him as Magnus gently presses him back into the sheets and pillows. The look the Shadowhunter is giving him is such an intense look that usually would make Magnus look away, but these past hours have been positively dreadful and he never wants to leave Alec’s side again.

“How long have I been out?” he asks, his voice hoarse. He clears his throat and shifts, wincing slightly in pain. His eyes fall down to his patched-up stomach and he swallows loudly and blinks. “So that really happened,” he whispers to himself. He looks up at Magnus and his look of wonder turns into worry.

“You were only out for a day or more,” Magnus says easily as if these 24 hours haven’t been one of the most painful hours of his life. Alec keeps staring at him, his eyes wide. He pats on the bed, his eyes begging Magnus to move closer. “How do you feel?”

Alec sighs, wrapping his arms around Magnus and holds the older man close to his chest. Magnus looks up from where his head is resting on Alec’s chest and raises a brow.

“I’m amazing.” He smiles down at his boyfriend, who in turn narrows his eyes at him. “I promise. It doesn’t even hurt that much.” He cups Magnus’ face and scoots down a little so they are face to face. He can’t describe how thankful he is to have Magnus here in his arms, to be able to see his face once again after the alternative universe. Magnus raises a hand, probably to ease the little discomfort Alec is feeling, but he stops him.

“You’ve exhausted yourself enough for one day,” he explains. He recognises the tired look on Magnus’ face and knows that he probably hasn’t stopped to take care of himself since he found Alec. He holds him close and relishes in the warmth and ease Magnus gives him. There are very few people that Alec feels this at ease with, and Magnus certainly tops that list. Not that he would ever tell Isabelle that.

In the morning, he’ll tell Magnus all about the alternative universe. He’ll convince Jace and Izzy that he’s completely fine and send them back to the Institute before he spends the rest of his day with Magnus. He’ll tell him all about how everyone had been completely different, how he and Jace weren’t parabatai.

He’ll tell him that if Valentine hadn’t gone mad, the Circle would have never existed. His parents would live in Idris, and they would not be as stern because the Clave wouldn’t be watching them as closely. He’ll tell him all about how Clary would never have met Simon, how Alec would never have moved to New York and probably never met Magnus.

It’s amazing how one small thing can change so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was it! 
> 
> friendly reminder that just because Valentine and Clary kind of had a hand in Magnus and Alec meeting the way they met, does not mean that they would have never met. also that they should definitely not thank Valentine!


End file.
